my mom tries to get me to take a spoonful or more of honey each day saying, it will give me nutrition and energy. i just can't stand it as it's sooo sticky for one thing! and much too cloyingly sweet.

one of my vegan friends tells me that she doesn't avoid honey, because she claims to have researched multiple times and says the process of taking the honey does NOT harm the bees, but in terms of vegan philosophy - it is still a form of exploiting animals, no? people say honey is a better form of sweetener than artificial things like Splenda.

i'd love to hear your thoughts on this. things like Splenda/sucralose, um...sorbitol, Equal, how bad are these things truly for us? is it all myth? and how do they get splenda to be so much sweeter than regular sugar, that's still a mystery to me!

I, personally would not ever use any artificial sweetener. They claim they're ok then in 10 years they find it causes __________________ fill in the blank.

Depending on how much you use, why not just plain, organic cane sugar? I think it would be better than the artificial stuff as long as you go easy on it. ANY sweetener you have to go easy on, even honey.

Some people use maple syrup. I don't care for the maple flavor in my tea. For baking I've seen recipes with pureed dates.

The less processed food you use the better, so whatever sweetener you decide to use, I would suggest using very little.

I used to use honey in my tea, then learned it's not considered vegan. In my research concerning honey I learned how bees make it, and this one fact grossed me out. Honey is the result of bees regurgitating the nectar which they've taken in. (Their vomit.) Stevia is a natural low calorie vegan sweetener, or get some "Just like Honey" Rice Nectar made by Suzanne's Specialties. You could also try Agave sweetener although I do find that leaves an after taste in my tea.

I used to use honey in my tea, then learned it's not considered vegan. In my research concerning honey I learned how bees make it, and this one fact grossed me out. Honey is the result of bees regurgitating the nectar which they've taken in. (Their vomit.) Stevia is a natural low calorie vegan sweetener, or get some "Just like Honey" Rice Nectar made by Suzanne's Specialties. You could also try Agave sweetener although I do find that leaves an after taste in my tea.

We generally use either raw sugar, evaporated cane juice, or raw dark agave unless it's a usage that is good with real maple syrup (dark amber - made locally - yum! We buy about 1 1/2 gallons during sugaring season to see us through the year). The raw sugar is a slightly coarser texture which is good for some things, not as good for others. We don't go through sugar nearly as much as we used to these days but the crystalline structure is necessary in some cases (agave won't freeze, for example, so it's not good for sorbet type applications). Once our taste buds adjusted, things that we used to like are just too sweet and things that don't seem sweet to most people (baked potato skins) are just sweet enough.

We do keep honey around, though, locally produced type, for the occasional scratchy throat or really dry, cracked lips. A mug of plant milk with a pat of vegan margarine warmed with a spoonful of honey stirred in is a wonderful throat soother. Just a wee fingertip drop of honey on chapped lips works wonders without the waxy feel or the petroleum based gel stuff.

I find that stevia leaves an aftertaste I dislike and every artificial sweetener has a fairly immediate physical effect on me (from massive headaches to minor headaches to diarrhea) - if you check any of the -itols like sorbitol, you'll note that there's a warning that it can cause diarrhea and the like in those sensitive to it (and in everyone if enough is consumed).

"Just like honey" rice nectar is available from Pangea Vegan Products at Vegan Store.com. I've gotten numerous vegan products from there including food, personal care products, make up, cleaners, and vitamins.

"Just like honey" rice nectar is available from Pangea Vegan Products at Vegan Store.com. I've gotten numerous vegan products from there including food, personal care products, make up, cleaners, and vitamins.